After Voting, Is It Wise to Post Your Election Ballot?

Congressional candidates may cross the line with pleas to prove your vote on social media.

By Katrina Valcourt

Published: 2014.07.25 11:01 AM

State Sen. Donna Mercado Kim’s Campaign for Congress came under fire from the League of Women Voters this week after the campaign sent out an email asking voters to post photos of their ballots on social media.

In the age of Facebook and Twitter, where people often post everything from what they eat at every meal to pictures of puppies and their marriage problems, uploading a photo of a completed ballot doesn’t seem so extreme. You might publicly “like” a politician on Facebook or volunteer with a campaign in the hopes it will encourage others to vote. But, the League says, sharing your ballot goes against the private nature of the voting process. The plea risks “disenfranchising those considering voting by mail with fears of losing the confidentiality of their vote,” the organization says in a news release.

Kim’s campaign acknowledges the issue with the following statement:

“We have been made aware of the League of Women Voters complaint and understand its concern.

The targeted email blast was sent out to 468 supporters of state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim by her campaign staff with the intent to encourage them to vote absentee.

Kim was not aware it specifically asked them to post their ballot on Facebook and Twitter.

We have since deleted the email blast.

The intent was not to ‘intimidate’ anyone to disclose their vote on social media.”

State Rep. Mark Takai’s campaign has also encouraged his Facebook supporters to take pictures of themselves with their ballots in order to be part of a team collage. Other candidates in the Congressional District 1 race, including Honolulu City Council Member Ikaika Anderson, simply posted photos of filled-in ballots while humbly asking for votes.

If you want to post a picture, that’s your choice. But if voters feel pressured to disclose information they don’t feel comfortable sharing, it can have consequences. Remember that your employer or union could see your post, the League says. We might say the same for those TMI updates. You know which ones we mean.

About Our Writers

This is HONOLULU Magazine’s take on politics. We know our readers are smart, savvy people who vote. Of course, we’ll follow the issues, the players and the money. But we’ll also keep an eye out for the quirkier stuff: Who’s winning the yard-sign wars, campaign survival tips; and check out the food and the fashion on the campaign trail. The section is edited by HONOLULU Magazine editor Robbie Dingeman, a political junkie who has covered Hawai‘i state, county and federal politics for more than 25 years at two daily newspapers and one television newsroom.

Treena Shapirohas been covering state and county government in Hawai‘i for 15 years, primarily writing about politics and education for two daily newspapers and three wire services. She is now a producer for “Insights on PBS Hawai‘i,” a weekly public affairs program that airs Thursday evenings.More from Treena »